The Truth
by IndiaPoppyRose
Summary: A silver kingdom ruled the land. A usurper stole the crown and a banished Queen bid her time. These are their stories. This is their truth. Cersei, Eddard, Robert, Lyanna, and Rhaegar
1. Chapter 1

I had an idea of an alternate Game of Thrones. One where Cersei gets her Silver Prince and most of the actions of the books still occur. Where Robert is still lustful and Eddard is still noble and Lyanna still dies. I had an idea and it centers on Cersei. The story, my story, begins with the relationship of Rhaegar and Cersei.

Where it ends nobody knows…


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: I'd like to start by saying the characters cannot be completely in character as I'm not GRRM and don't have his internal insight into his characters. Therefore, these are my interpretations of them and my take on how they might act if their lives had been different. Maybe they would be crueler or maybe they would understand humanity just a bit more. I should also mention I own no rights to the characters and this is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Also, these chapters are all short and really more like sections of scenes or a bit like flash fiction. There is sequence, but I might throw in some flashbacks to break some things up.

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The first time Rhaegar looks into Cersei's eyes he tries to love her. He tries to want her as much as he thought he would. She is as beautiful as he knew her to be, and as intelligent and witty as he had heard, her conversations are light and intriguing and her humor is refreshing next to the bleakness that is his father, and yet he feels something is missing. He watches her that evening and he gives her a rose to signal his approval, but as he leaves and as he watches her leave he ponders her secret.

The second time he meets her is by accident. She's fighting with her twin, his face far too close to hers and his hands clutch her to him. She pulls away before she sees Rhaegar, and when he grabs at her again, his lips against her neck; she seems more panicked than angry. Her cheeks are red and she begs him to stop. She reminds him of the presence of their father, the king, and him. It dawns on Rhaegar that his behavior might not be new. Their behavior together might be common. But when she fights him and cries out when he bites her lip, he pulls the boy off of her.

She blushes furiously and begs his forgiveness. Instead Rhaegar says nothing and wipes the blood from her lip and watches as the teenage boy leaves in a huff. His anger palpable beneath the stony silence of the betrothed. He leaves that day without answers, and a solidified relationship, but the look in her eyes lingers.

The third time he meets her is at a tourney. She won't meet his gaze and he learns that her twin has run off with a relative of the Baratheons. He's married and she is alone and angry and when he offers her a rose he sees no lingering mischief or conniving manipulation hidden in the shadow of her eyes. She takes it wordlessly and sits in sullen silence while he collects his thoughts. He decides right then he shall marry her. All the arguments with his father and his father's men would cease and he would marry the forlorn girl lost without her brother.

The fourth time he sees her is on their wedding day and she looks beautiful and majestic in her gold gown. Her lips are dyed red and her hair is spun gold and her smile is enchanting, but her eyes show longing and mischief. The truth he had last saw, the barriers broken down, are replaced by a need for revenge against the brother that wronged her and a thirst for power even he had never experienced. He kisses her deeper than is expected and enjoys the twitch of anxiety that passes through her body. Rhaegar forces himself to concede to his love for her and convinces himself that one day she will settle. Her mind will become complacent and her role will become secure. Children will rid the thoughts of betrothals to her brother and the deception he knows she lives by will cease. He wills her to love and be pure, but even Rhaegar knows the lioness cannot be tamed.


	3. Chapter 3

Cersei had never been the type of woman to love an infant. They were small and fragile and weak; the very essence of the things she detested. And, though she felt an inkling of affection for the pale, girl creature that seemed forever nestled into her husband's arms she couldn't shake the feeling that the infant reminded her far too much of the imp.

She could remember when she was a young girl who had looked into the creature's cradle and saw nothing but a small, ugly monster. A baby with wrinkles upon its head and limbs that were peculiarly short.

Her child had perfect limbs and the quaintest of rosebud lips. But, there were wrinkles upon her tiny fingers and forehead. It was as if she had birthed the tiniest of elders. The babe had no hair, but for a downy covering of white on top of her head. And her eyes bore the trademark newborn blue, but the rims spoke of an uncanny resemblance to violet.

She was a Targaryen. And so she was aptly named after one. _Rhaenys._ Her husband had whispered the name only once. So soft that she thought it was one of his lyrics. He had visited her so rarely when she had been with child that she had remembered every word he said.

He had shown up unexpectedly. She was far gone then and her belly seemed to stretch like a canvas before her. Rhaegar was a strange man, she had decided, timid in one instance but firm in his power and position in another. He had been cautious then. His steps were straightforward, though when he reached forward to place his palm upon her belly he had seemed nervous.

They spoke so seldom it seemed strange that he would ask her how she fared. And, yet he did. Cersei had been taken aback and had stuttered out a response, something highly uncharacteristic of her. She suspected he enjoyed when she could not plan a well-timed and clever response. Much like the time he had found her with Jaime she wondered if he enjoyed boring into her soul and seeing the true creature that she was.

But as quickly as he came he always left. It had been no different than the two times he had bed her. Once on their wedding night and the other to make the baby. He would make the effort to catch her off-guard, but once he himself came to close to releasing his inner thoughts he retreated to his sanctuaries. He had left quickly that day, disappearing to think and mull over thoughts only he could transpire. But as he left he stopped. His hand stayed him in the doorway and he turned only an inch so the profile of his face was visible to her eye. His words seemed to hang before he spoke and it was only one word that escaped. _Rhaenys._

"But, what if it's a boy?" She had demanded, because she was a Lannister and she was sure if she was bearing him a child the first one would be what she willed it to be. He had simply shook his head and retreated from her chambers leaving her alone with nothing but a babe in her belly and a name that meant nothing.

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A/N: I've changed my mind. The story will not be completely chronological. It feels more organic to me for it to be a series of moments that coexist in a rather nonlinear progression. Also, it's not purely Cersei, but this chapter of the series has a strong emphasis on the beginnings of her character. I plan to do the same for all the other characters as my own sort of introduction.


End file.
